Arlington, Texas, announced that it would complete payments for the debt on its AT&T Stadium ten full years ahead of schedule, on August 15, “saving more than $150 million in interest and fees than was projected when voters approved the project,’ according to WFAA, an ABC-affiliated television station in Dallas. 

The stadium project was first developed when the Dallas Cowboy’s owner Jerry Jones decided that it was time to move his team from the increasingly decrepit Texas Stadium. He negotiated with Dallas County for a new facility, but they were unable to make a deal.  Next step was Arlington, where, in 2005, voters permitted $325 million In public funding for half the cost to be raised through increases in sales, hotel and car rental taxes. The NFL kicked in $150 million, and the Cowboys were to pay the remainder.

As is typically the case, the price tag of the facility rose to $1.2 billion, by the time the stadium opened in 2009, but the city’s contribution didn’t go up – the underestimates were paid by the Cowboys. 

The original plan was for the city to pay its share from debt issued in 2005 over the next 30 years. “But” according to WFAA, “the City advanced through that debt much sooner thanks to good revenue performance and refinancing and early redemptions, which saved millions of dollars in interest and fees over the years.”  

Although the original plan was to use these additional sources of revenue exclusively for the Stadium, back in 2017, voters decided to approve these funding sources for the City’s contribution toward the Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers and other events including rodeos and college football games.

Though this early payment is certainly positive news, like many other stadiums, there hasn’t appeared to be a significant boost to the city’s economy generally. In fact, the city originally estimated that the stadium would bring in about $238 million in annual economic impact, but subsequent studies have shown that this number was overstated dramatically. The big winner here: Jerry Jones and the Cowboys, whose franchise value is among the highest in professional sports.

Though the city deserves credit for its conservative repayment of the stadium debt, the city is still facing a projected deficit for fiscal year 2026. According to Axios, “the city plans to increase the property tax rate, cut operational hours of some department and raise fees for city services including the garbage collection rate.” 

A little quick math shows that if the city had gotten the economic benefits it originally anticipated from the Stadium, these cuts wouldn’t be necessary. 

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